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SAT exam to undergo substantial revisions for 2016

Saying its college admission exams do not focus enough on the important academic skills, the College Board announced on Wednesday a fundamental rethinking of the SAT, ending the longstanding penalty for guessing wrong, cutting obscure vocabulary words and making the essay optional.

The president of the College Board, David Coleman, criticized his own test, the SAT, and its main rival, the ACT, saying that both had “become disconnected from the work of our high schools.”

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

The new exam will be rolled out in 2016, so this year’s ninth graders will be the first to take it, in their junior year. The new SAT will continue to test reading, writing and math skills, with an emphasis on analysis. Scoring will return to a 1,600-point scale last used in 2004, with a separate score for the optional essay.

For the first time, students will have the option of taking the test on computers.

Once the predominant college admissions exam, the SAT in recent years has been overtaken in popularity by the competing ACT, which has long been considered more curriculum based. The ACT offers an optional essay and announced last year it would begin making computer-based testing available in 2015.

 

 

 

IELTS (Academic) or TOEFL

If English is not your mother tongue or you are applying to a college or university from outside North America, you may be asked to demonstrate your proficiency in English.  A large number of schools will ask that you take either the TOEFL (“Test of English as  a Foreign Language”) or the IELTS (“International English Language Testing System). The TOEFL is a U.S. based test and will test American English. The IELTS is a British based test and will test British English.

Here is an article to help you decide wither to take take the TOEFL or IELTS.

Famous SAT Instructor in Seoul Kidnapped

Famous SAT Instructor in Seoul Kidnapped

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/01/113_59983.html

A well-known instructor who teaches the U.S. standardized Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) was kidnapped and was forced to sign a renewal contract, amid the widening police investigation into the recent leakage of questions of the test, the Hankook Ilbo said Saturday. Continue reading →

SAT May Someday Be Optional, Dean Says

News
SAT May Someday Be Optional, Dean Says
Following study, Fitzsimmons says SAT not best predictor of college success
Published On 9/23/2008 1:01:31 AM
Crimson Staff Writer
The SAT Reasoning Test may one day be optional for Harvard applicants, according to Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid William R. Fitzsimmons ’67. Continue reading →

SAT in the news – Scores Fall as Gap Widens

The Wall Street Journal

SAT Scores Fall as Gap Widens; Asians Gain

By JOHN HECHINGER

Check out the comments on this article.

High-school students’ performance last year on the SAT college-entrance exam fell slightly, and the score gap generally widened between lower-performing minority groups and white and Asian-American students, raising questions about the effectiveness of national education reform efforts. Continue reading →

SAT coaching found to boost scores barely

The Wall Street Journal

SAT Coaching Found to Boost Scores — Barely

Study Results Run Counter to Test-Prep Course Claims; How Colleges Fuel Industry

May 20, 2009

Check out the comments on this article including:

“Agreed – a lot of the courses are not great – but the right one-on-one SAT tutor (who makes the kids work) is worth his/her weight in gold. I believe college administrators are saying the politically correct thing. It was obvious to me (twice) that their is an advantage to students who can afford good SAT prep. Best money I spent – would do it again.”

Continue reading →

Don’t forget to check out our free SAT sessions – Richard Montauk!

Thanks for  visiting.

Spring if coming and it’s getting to be the time of year when those of you applying to U.S. colleges will thinking about SAT. Feel free to visit us at one of our free SAT information sessions. Our weekend SAT preparation courses will run every month starting in May.  Of course, the main point is to get yourself accepted to the U.S. college or university of your choice. Take advantage of Richard Montauk’s visit to Toronto this June.

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